A tangential question--Image for Windows--all the Terabyte image files are compatible with the other versions of the software--i.e. Image for DOS, and I think Image for Linux--so the question--can Image for Windows be used in the same fashion as one can use Ghost32?

@

wp

Quote:

i am using ghost 11.5 and get error

unable to lock volume

Are you using DOS Ghost or Ghost32 in Windows, and what procedure are you attempting with Ghost that gives you that error?

Well, a common way that I use Ghost32 in WinXP is to create an image of a bootable DOS partition, and then use that image to push it onto an attached USB HDD to make it bootable.

Ghost32 will have access to the USB HDD because Windows is providing USB drivers. And, I can take an image made from my small 40 GB HDD, and transfer that to a 640 GB HDD (or whatever size), and Ghost will expand the partition to use the entire drive.

I can then use that bootable USB HDD to boot from a laptop, the laptop provides USB access to that entire HDD (I don't have to load DOS USB drivers), and I can create my Ghost backup images and store them on that USB HDD.

You can image an IFD, IFL or IFW flash drive partition and restore that image to unallocated free space on a USB HD and set the partition Active. The HD is then bootable from that partition and you can create/restore images.

The IFD partition size is a few MB.The IFL partition size is about 80 MB.The IFW partition size is about 300 MB.

The IFD partition size is a few MB.The IFL partition size is about 80 MB.The IFW partition size is about 300 MB.

Not sure--are you talking about the minimum data size needed for a partition to create bootable media for the different versions of TeraByte image programs?

Quote:

The HD is then bootable from that partition and you can create/restore images.

So, if using IFD--the initial image of a DOS bootable partition will have a FAT file system? And the Restored image to the USB HDD will also have the FAT file system?

And, the Restore to the USB HDD (using IFW) gives one the option to *fill* the whole USB HDD as a single large partition?

Does IFD have the ability to see and use other partitions on a HDD that are NTFS partitions for the storing and retrieving of image files?

Quote:

restore that image to unallocated free space on a USB HD

I just realized that I have not done the experiment to determine if the laptop's BIOS will also provide access to any other partitions on the USB HDD when booted from it. I have only created a single large FAT partition that the BIOS booted from and mounted it as the C:\ drive. The whole drive was then available for image storage and/or retrieval.

With the DOS USB drivers, if the boot was successful, an attached USB HDD could have multiple partitions, and if they were FAT, DOS would assign each partition with a DOS drive letter. And, once Ghost was loaded, Ghost would be able to *see* any NTFS partitions on that drive in addition to the DOS lettered FAT partitions.

So, I don't know if the laptop's BIOS will assign DOS drive letters to any other FAT partitions on an external USB HDD that the BIOS is booting from. And I also don't know if Ghost can see any other NTFS partitions on the USB HDD.

So, if using IFD--the initial image of a DOS bootable partition will have a FAT file system?And the Restored image to the USB HDD will also have the FAT file system?

Yes. Makedisk.exe offers several options to create the IFD flash drive. Choose Partition. The partition will fill the flash drive. So if my flash drive is 8 GB then I have an 8 GB partition containing less than 2 MB of data. The flash drive is imaged and the image is restored to a USB external HD. I don't want an 8 GB partition on the HD as it will be 99.9% empty so I resize the restored partition to say 10 MB. The remainder of the USB external HD will be a single NTFS partition.

Quote:

And, the Restore to the USB HDD (using IFW) gives one the option to *fill* the whole USB HDD as a single large partition

You could do that. I don't and I don't understand what advantage that would provide.

Quote:

Does IFD have the ability to see and use other partitions on a HDD that are NTFS partitions for the storing and retrieving of image files?

No problems at all with internal HD NTFS partitions but at times (depending on your BIOS) external HD partitions may not be usable (NTFS or FAT). The partition is seen but IFD freezes. I prefer to use IFL or IFW with external HDs because of this potential issue.

Well, I'm usually using DOS Ghost2003 which does not provide USB support unless you can load DOS USB drivers--and many newer systems have a USB controller that the DOS drivers are not compatible with. If the BIOS will mount at least the one partition that is DOS bootable, then you have the whole drive to use for as many backups as it can hold. If it's just a small boot partition, then you are limited to that small partition size--unless the BIOS is allowing one to have access to the remainder of the drive that is partitioned with additional partitions and same or different file systems.

But, I think when you are able to boot from a USB HDD to DOS, the BIOS does not mount any additional FAT or NTFS partitions--so with Ghost 2003 at least, one will not have access to store any image files on those partitions, and won't be able to access any image files on those partitions to restore, as well.

Quote:

but at times (depending on your BIOS) external HD partitions may not be usable (NTFS or FAT). The partition is seen but IFD freezes.

That's exactly the problem! Probably only the initial boot partition will be available--that's the advantage of making the whole drive one partition in this particular usage. The freezing is probably the incompatible USB controller in DOS.

Does IFD have builtin USB HDD access after you boot to DOS? I know DOS Ghost v8.xx had the USB DOS drivers builtin instead of having to load separate DOS drivers during boot--but Ghost2003 does not support USB unless you load those separate drivers.

USB access in IFD is all or none. I just booted into IFD from a flash drive and looked at a USB HD. It contained 3 partitions. FAT, FAT32 and NTFS. All were visible. But with previous computers I have had occasional trouble even with 1 partition USB HDs. TeraByte Support says its BIOS related and to use IFL instead. IFL accesses the drive without using the BIOS. Or use IFW.

Here are various workarounds (but didn't help me)

Quote:

* USB 1.1 (UHCI) – If you need USB 1.1 (UHCI) support for older systems that don’t support USB 2.0, enable this option. In addition, some new systems require this option or the USB port will hang and Image for DOS won’t detect any USB devices. USB 2.0 support is always enabled regardless of this option.* Correct USB Hang (1) – If you experience problems with USB devices hanging, you can enable this option to attempt to correct it. This option can degrade USB IO performance.* Correct USB Hang (2) – If you experience problems with USB devices hanging, you can enable this option to attempt to correct it. This option can degrade USB IO performance.

Also..

Quote:

/usbign:nUSBIgnoreMask=nUse this option to hide certain USB host controllers. For example, if you have a USB keyboard, Image for DOS might disable the keyboard when it takes control of the USB2 host controller. Using this option, you can hide the host controller of that USB keyboard and attach the USB keyboard to a different controller. It usually takes some experimentation to determine which controller to hide, but the two USB ports next to each other are usually controlled by the same host controller. To hide the first USB controller, use /usbign:1, and to hide the second USB controller, use /usbign:2. To hide the third USB controller, use /usbign:4. To hide both the first and second USB controllers, use /usbign:3.Note: Use a basic Bit Mask numbering scheme.Default if omitted: Image for DOS takes control of all detected USB2 host controllers.

So, I don't even try to use IFD with USB external HDs anymore. Even though IFD can see USB external HDs attached to this computer. IFL and IFW work fine with USB external HDs. Image creation and restores can be automated for all three apps. IFL and IFW can create/restore images over a network. IFD can't.

I just recalled what happens when IFD can't access USB external HDs. The USB mouse and keyboard become frozen and you have to shutdown with the power button. A BIOS issue.

By the way, 99.9% of my images are created hot. I only use flash drive for restores.

Also, IFD isn't running in DOS from your makedisk.exe created flash drive. It's running in the TeraByte OS, TBOS. The exe file, image.exe, will run in DOS but the USB results are no different.